Just how many times can you illegally download content and get away with it, officially speaking? A new agreement between major US ISPs and the music and movie industry has pegged it at six. Give or take. Honestly, they don't really care that much.

According to Cnet's Greg Sandoval, internet service providers such as AT&T, Comcast and…
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In addition to being twice as generous as an MLB at bat, the six-strikes-you're-out rule is pretty well weighted towards all you copyright bandits out there. The goal, according to the likes of Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Comcast, etc., is to "educate" rather than "punish," an attitude that comes from straight from the goodness of their wallets. Because if you're actually reprimanded for all those downloads, they'll lose you as a customer. And they just. Won't. Let. That. Happen.

The plan is basically a series of warnings that you'll receive each time you're caught, after the fifth of which ISPs can start taking punitive measures like reducing your internet speeds or redirecting you to a landing page that encourages you to call your provider and have a nice chat about copyright law. They're under no obligation to yank your service, though, and they won't, because see above re: your regular monthly payments.

Still, maybe not a bad idea to keep it to six illegal downloads just to keep everyones feathers unruffled. As long as they don't make another Rocky movie, you should be set. [Ars, Image credit: Shutterstock/astral232]